Marion School District Newsletter
Home of the Marion Patriots
Quote of the Month
“The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide you’re not going to stay where you are.” —J.P. Morgan
Marion School District School Choice Deadline May 1st
Application available at the central office or online at https://bit.ly/35OjhdF for the 2020-2021 school year.
Marion School District participates in the Arkansas Public School Choice Act of 2015: Parents and legal guardians of children residing outside of the Marion School District who are interested in sending their child/children to the MSD for the 2020-2021 school year may pick up an application at the MSD Central Office located at 200 Manor Street. Parents may also download the application from the MSD website at https://bit.ly/35OjhdF . All applications must be turned in by May 1, 2020 or postmarked no later than May 1, 2020.
Applications do not have to be resubmitted for students currently attending the Marion School District under the Arkansas Public School Choice Act. This notice complies with all provisions of the Arkansas Public School Choice Act of 2015.
KEEP MARION SCHOOL DISTRICT AT YOUR FINGERTIPS!
VOCTAVE Returns to Marion!
Marion Proposes Two Innovative Changes for the District
The fundamental structure of our country’s agrarian-based educational calendar and time schedule has not changed significantly in the last two hundred years. However, what we know about the science of teaching and learning has certainly changed remarkably over the same time period, particularly in the last twenty years. Consequently, as a school district, we believe that we have a responsibility to consistently evaluate any research-based models that are not part of our current practice but have the potential to improve the overall learning environment for staff and students.
Recently we have been evaluating two innovations that we feel have merit. One is a new hybrid school calendar. Basically, this model will allow students and faculty to focus more rigorously on a nine week academic session, then take a two week break to rest and recharge for the next nine week session. Students will still attend school for the 178 state-mandated days; however, the days will stretch from near the end of July until early June in a model that we feel has significant potential to improve learning outcomes.
Our second proposed innovation involves school start times. While our start/end times would remain the same for K-6th grade students, we are proposing to delay the start time for 7th-12th grade students by one hour, with a new start/end schedule of 9:00 a.m.-4:15 p.m. Research indicates that later start times can greatly benefit the learning process of teens.
Moreover, this proposed time modification can help address some transportation scenarios that continue to be less than ideal for a significant number of our students. Presently, we have about 300-350 secondary school students who may be required to board our bus as early as 6:15 a.m. to be delivered to school by 7:00 each morning, so that the bus can then start the second leg of a double route. Also about the same number (300-350) of secondary students may be required to wait for a bus 45 minutes to 1 hour each day after school and then may face as much as a 45-minute bus ride home.
Two possible remedies for this regrettable transportation situation have been identified. One is the purchase of 18 additional buses with an estimated cost in excess of $2 million, plus the expense and very difficult task of identifying and sustaining the employment of 18 additional bus drivers.
A second solution is simply to stagger our start times with 7th-12th grade students arriving at 9 a.m., a strategy that, as stated, also provides significant benefits to the learning process for teens. Another option being examined is for our 10th-12th grade students to arrive at 9 .m.
In order to facilitate conversations surrounding the proposed innovations, we held an informational meeting where representatives from numerous stakeholder groups (which included members of the Marion School Board, all district and building-level administrators, members of the certified personnel policy committee, members of the classified personnel policy committee, as well as student and parent representatives) were in attendance. Also, any faculty and staff that are not a member of any of the groups listed above were welcome and encouraged to attend.
For informational purposes, we have included a link to several publications from a variety of respected sources that speak to the science behind the rationale for these proposed modifications.
Medical/Dental Lab at MHS
Mrs. Castle's year 2 Medical Procedures Expanded classes received hands-on training thanks to the UAMS medical service clinics. Students are practicing medical, laboratory and dental assisting skills with Janet Ligon and Caitlin Howe from University of Arkansas Medical School.
The main goal of UAMS Regional Campuses is to improve the lives of community members across Arkansas. To help accomplish this goal, Regional Campuses works to increase the availability of health care in the community, provide consultation and education for area health care professionals, and offer health education to individuals across Arkansas. More information about each of these efforts is included below.
FOR EVEN MORE PICTURES, CLICK THE LINK TO VIEW THE ENTIRE ALBUM
https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipNzsZymrXmv0XxA3GhjH0EKJYCRAZ73Mc13fGW4
Local Health Care
UAMS Regional Campuses provides medical services in clinics across the state. These Family Medical Centers emphasize health promotion and disease prevention that may keep a minor issue from developing into a major condition.
In addition to clinic support efforts, UAMS Regional Campuses works to recruit, train place health care professionals and physicians where they are needed throughout the state. These efforts help ensure communities across Arkansas have access to highly qualified health care professionals.
Consultations and Continuing Professional Education
UAMS Regional Campuses contracts with the UAMS Center for Distance Health (CDH) to offer an ongoing slate of continuing professional education through distance technology. These resources allow medical practitioners to stay abreast of the latest information and research with minimal interruption to their clinical work.
The CDH can also help coordinate onsite consultations with UAMS specialists via the telemedicine network. These consultations help the patient get the care they need without the burden of traveling far from home.
MHS is Showin' Love & Donatin' Blood
What a fabulous turn-out! Lifeblood saw 45 students today at Marion High School. An impressive total of 40+ units were donated; that is 280 lives saved! Over 35-40 kids had to be turned away due to the high volume so the Lifeblood Mobile Blood Lab will be on campus on January 30th to take even more donations.--
The link below will take you to more pictures from Marion High School's record setting blood drive...
https://photos.app.goo.gl/8n3j...
Click HERE to see a video documenting the blood drive as well as other labs that were supported by the UAMS campus to ensure the students receive hands-on experience.
MHS Cyber Security Given the Gift of Virtual Environments
After weeks of collaborating with Mr. Sam Uddin and his immensely talented and savvy team, the MHS Cyber Lab is home to its own virtual environment. As they ventured into the realm of CompTIA certification guides and textbooks, it became evident quickly that access to virtual environments for lab work and testing would be a necessity due to MSD's network policies and restrictions. Pearson was happy to offer this, but at a cost of playing by their rules and excess of $150/student/year. With the anticipated growth of the program this coming school year, that was not feasible or even responsible to pay.
Mr. Uddin took a look at the curriculum and saw where existing MSD infrastructure could handle hosting a small number of such virtual environments at no cost using decommissioned equipment. Today, students are able to have full, unrestricted access to virtual Windows 10 environments to complete lab assignments from Pearson's CompTIA Security+ Certification guide. It is running smoothly! Mr. West is incredibly proud of this virtual environment they have and want to thank Mr. Uddin and his fantastic team for using their talents to give our MHS Cyber Security students a powerful tool. It is a GREAT day to be a Patriot!
Spanish 3 - Por vs Para
A quick Spanish lesson:
Por is used:
-to discuss places you’re traveling through -discussing how much you paid for something
-how long something lasted
-the cause for something happening
-When you went somewhere in someone’s place.
-How you traveled or talked to someone (by car, by phone, etc).
Para is used:
-to discuss the place to which you travelled
-to discuss your reason for doing something (I study in order to get good grades, for example).
-to discuss who you work for
-to discuss who you gave a gift to.
MJHS 7th Grader gives back on MLK Day!
Student Spotlight, Will Zheng
Will Zheng's art work, "Lavender Impressions," was among the artworks selected for inclusion in the 2020 National Art Honor Society Juried Exhibition Virtual Gallery which will be showcased on the NAEA website. Over 1,000 works were entered; 60 were chosen for the physical display and 70 for the online gallery. The Virtual Gallery will be available for viewing beginning on January 27, 2020 at: https://www.arteducators.org/opportunities/naea-studio-gallery-exhibitions/current-exhibitions.
Congratulations Nya Jeffery!
Congratulations to Nya Jeffery for passing the ServSafe Manager Exam! With this certification, she is able to work in the food and restaurant industry and have a leg up on other employees because they are already food safety and manager level certified. Nya, your hard work and determination has paid off!
Yared Belete wins 1st Place
The Butterfly Project: Remembering the Children in Terezin
Mrs. Goodman's 8th grade Pre-AP students honored victims of the Holocaust who were in Terezin -a children’s concentration camp- by completing the Butterfly Project. They each received a poem that was written by a child who was in Terezin, and created a butterfly in memory of that child. They used colors/ lines from their poem as inspiration.
The project stems from “The Butterfly” poem from the collection, in which Pavel Friedman mentioned that they never saw another butterfly after they got to Terezin.
GREAT THINGS THAT HAPPENED THIS MONTH AT HCGC
GREAT THINGS THAT HAPPENED THIS MONTH AT MST
Science Fair Coming in February. Click HERE for information about the Topic, Participation, Presentation, Dates, and Prizes.
MST first tomatoes! The first tomatoes were harvested from the new MST Greenhouse. the students were excited and found their product delicious!
GREAT THINGS THAT HAPPENED THIS MONTH AT VPA
5th Grade Pastries with a Pal will be Friday, January 17th @ 8:30 am. Please fill out a form and return it to your child's homeroom teacher. Please click the link for a form: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ImMqE54XYYau5ZEgecaI_wT_GlWQD__6ydk_jBKhQKM/edit?usp=sharing
MST Fiction Book Tasting
HCGC 2nd Graders Sponsor a Child in Ghana for a Year
HCGC second graders raised $1,000 to sponsor a child in Ghana (Africa) through World Vision. They more than doubled their goal of reaching $468 to sponsor him for a year. Back in September, they began working towards sponsorship for their grade level/school wide global goal of Zero Hunger. The child's name HCGC is sponsoring is Mohammed Suhuyini, and he is 8 years old. They raised enough money to sponsor him for 17 months, or through June 2021. They also made a $50 donation towards a Christmas gift (which was doubled by the company to total $100), a $75 donation for a birthday gift, and they have provided $62 that will support his community. They have been sending monthly donations for him since September, but they will mail the check with the majority of the funds this week.
Claire Mitchell in Mrs. Newcomb's class played a HUGE part in our fundraising. She baked 89 loaves of pumpkin bread and raised $663!
HCGC's second graders were very excited to receive their first letter from Mohammed in the mail this week. Each class is writing him back, and they hope to keep this correspondence going through their time at Global. They can also log in to the website and view pictures/info of his community.
HCGC 4th grader wins the 2019 Year End Grand Champion Award
HCGC Student Wins 2019 BroadwayWorld Memphis Award!
Winners Announced For 2019 BroadwayWorld Memphis Awards
by BWW News Desk
Following a record number of nominations and votes, winners have been announced for the 2019 BroadwayWorld Memphis Awards, brought to you by TodayTix!! The nominees were set, audiences voted, and now we get to recognize local theatres and performers for their outstanding achievement!
Regional productions, touring shows, and more were all included, honoring productions which opened between October 1, 2018 through September 30, 2019.
Herbert Carter Global Community's very own 4th grader, Olivia Kaiser won Best Younger Actress (under age 25) - MATILDA - Playhouse On the Square.
To see the full list of 2019 BroadwayWorld Memphis Award Winners go to https://www.broadwayworld.com/memphis/article/Winners-Announced-For-2019-BroadwayWorld-Memphis-Awards-20200114
Congratulations Olivia! HCGC and MSD are so proud of you!
PATS SPLIT WITH BOMBERS by Tyler Bennett
The Patriots split their Tuesday night meeting with the Mountain Home Bombers in a pair of games where the three-pointer was the deciding factor. Marion was also able to celebrate two of its boys’ basketball players and the national honors that they received. Seniors Detrick Reeves Jr. and Makyi Boyce were named as nominees for the McDonald’s All-American teams last week. The two received a commemorative plaque recognizing their accomplishment before their first game at Patriot Arena since the announcement. “I think it speaks to just how good they and a lot of the kids in this area are at this game,” Marion coach David Clark said. “I love those two to death. They put in hard work every day and are very deserving of every award or honor that they get. It says a lot about this community and this program to have two guys like that.” The night started with a physical game between the Lady Patriots (8-11 overall, 1-3 5A East) and the Lady Bombers (14-3, 3-1). The Lady Patriots used their inside presence to start out strong, but the outside shooting ability of the Lady Bombers proved to be too much in this contest. The Lady Pats did most of their first half damage in the paint, which led to their 14-7 lead at the end of the first quarter. However, the Lady Bombers started hitting their shots in the second quarter, including the three-pointer, and trimmed the Marion lead to 24-21 at the half. Mountain Home took the lead in the third quarter, holding Marion to only two made field goals in the third quarter. Marion finally regained their offensive rhythm in the fourth quarter, but the Bombers were able to answer to take the 43-40 win. Up next was a chance for the Patriots (6-10, 2-2) to return to .500 in conference play against the Bombers (11-7, 1-3). Marion used the long-ball to their advantage against the fundamentally sound Bombers. The first two buckets for both teams were three-pointers, but Marion found enough production around the rim for an 18-11 lead after the first. Junior Darrius Waterford made the first two three’s for Marion and senior B.J. Johnson made one as well. The defenses tightened up in the second quarter, but Waterford was able to sink another three-pointer to extend the lead. Marion outscored the Bombers 11-9 in the quarter to give them a 29-21 lead at the break. The second half belonged to Detrick Reeves. After a three-point first half, the senior guard took over, scoring twenty of Marion’s thirty-two second half points. Reeves made half of Marion’s eight three-pointers, all of which came in the second half. Marion came out strong in the second half, outscoring the Bombers 17-9 in the third and 33-27 overall in the half. The 61-48 win is their third-straight over the Bombers. Up next for the Pats is a Friday night road trip to Greene County Tech on January 24. Tipoff for the girls’ game is scheduled for 6:00 pm with the boys’ game beginning at approximately 7:30 pm.
MARION SPLITS WITH NETTLETON by Tyler Bennett
Share The Good Stuff
- Exciting field trips
- Guest speakers
- Interactive lesson plans
- Students or staff with remarkable personal stories
- Favorable academic data
- College signings, academic scholarships
- Planned professional development
Send your good stuff with pictures and/or video to Jonnett Gammill at jgammill@msd3.org or Tyler Bennett at tybennett@msd3.org
NEWSLETTER SUBMISSIONS
The deadline to submit information is the 21st of each month.
About MSD
Email: jgammill@msd3.org
Website: www.msd3.org
Location: 200 Manor Street, Marion, AR, USA
Phone: 870-739-5100
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MSDPatriots/
Twitter: @MSD_Patriots